Half-Blood Holidays
by ThereBeDragons17
Summary: Most people think that their holidays are crazy. It's nothing compared to the craziness that goes on at Camp Half-Blood. I have no idea whether or not I'll post more chapters.


12:01… AM

It was just after midnight when the cannon went off.

When I said 'just after midnight', I mean that my clock read 12:01am. When I say that a cannon went off, I mean that a cannon _literally _went off.

That's not too unusual. I mean, I live in a camp for hyperactive bellicose demigods, and I hear swords and arrows all the time- even the occasional land mine. But the cannon was new. And completely unwelcome.

I sat up immediately and whacked my head on the bunk over mine. The rest of my cabin is empty- well, sometimes my half-brother Tyson comes to stay, but he rarely does. Music suddenly started blaring- even louder than the Ares Cabin plays it (usually)- and I heard the faint yells of other annoyed campers. The cannon went off again in the time it took me to stagger to the door of my cabin and yank it open, sword out and ready.

I was greeted with a shower of streamers and confetti in gold, red, and green. Across the main green between the cabins, I saw other campers sticking their heads out of doors and windows, staring. The Big House front door almost exploded off its hinges and Chiron the centaur, my teacher and the head of camp, cantered out in a night cap, looking partly worried and partly annoyed.

There was a sudden _whooshing _sound and loud _bangs _as two dozen fireworks exploded in quick succession, making it look like huge snowflakes were falling through the sky. The music became clearer, and I realized that some idiot had hooked up a half-dozen speakers around the green and each one was playing a different Christmas carol loud enough to reach Olympus. The one nearest me was playing 'Jingle Bell Rock'.

But the main attractions were two sons of Hermes, Travis and Connor Stoll. Even though I suspected the fireworks were the work of the Hephaestus Cabin, the main attraction was definitely the Stoll brothers' work. One of the two- (they're identical, so I can't distinguish one from the other unless they're standing right next to each other, although surprisingly they're not twins) was driving one of the camp's two 'Staff Only' SUVs in circles around the green, pulling fishtails and J-turns and chewing up the grass.

The other one was manning a huge Revolutionary War Era cannon perched precariously on top of the SUV in a way that did not look safe at all, wearing a costume like George Washington, and making a big show of lighting the cannon and shooting off cannonballs, which turned into confetti and streamers in midair. Every time he shot one off, he yelled, "For Texas!" which was the most random thing to say, but definitely a Stoll trademark.

Eventually, I guess the Stolls ran out of magical cannon balls, the brothers stopped the SUV and the one driving it climbed out. I realized that while the one on the top of the SUV- probably Connor- was dressed up as George Washington, Travis was dressed as Santa Claus, complete with fake beard and a pillow stuffed halfway up his shirt. He had a huge sack with him. The thing was literally twenty feet long and slowly unraveled from the back seat.

Finally, with a _thud, _the end of the sack came into view. With the whole of Camp Half-Blood watching him, Travis ducked into the sack. I could see the sack swelling as he crawled down it, saw him pause at the end of it, then crawl back. When Travis reappeared he held one last cannonball over his head.

The Ares and Hermes Cabins cheered, the first for blood, the second for entertainment. Santa Claus/Travis climbed up onto the top of the SUV, handed the ball to Conner, and stood back as his brother loaded and set off the cannon.

The cannonball exploded into candy canes in midair and hard stripped candies flew everywhere. The younger campers all squealed and ran out to collect the treats.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" yelled Travis through a bullhorn.

"THE BRITISH ARE COMING!" Connor echoed.

The half of the camp that was amused laughed, and the half that wasn't went back to bed. I looked toward the Athena Cabin and saw Annabeth and one of her siblings ushering the younger kids inside. It was freezing out.

I had only spent one other Christmas at camp, and it hadn't been quite as crazy as this. But besides the Stolls' performance, things looked much the same. A huge menorah was assembled next to an equally gigantic Christmas tree.

Chiron came down from the Big House and was talking angrily to the Stolls, who looked unfazed. The music stopped, and the SUV rolled back toward the garage. I pulled my head back inside and went back to bed.

Yeah. This was a normal Christmas at Camp Half-Blood.


End file.
